I recently went to see a production of “The Glenn Miller Mystery” by Future Legend Theatre Company, written by Tony Phillips and directed by Martin Craig. This was small but effective production and they did very well to hold the stage and the audiences interest, with a cast of only two people.
The play itself is set in a dressing room at Twinwood Airfield, December 15, 1999. Frank Sinatra tribute artist, Tony Perelli, is preparing to give his final performance when he is greeted by a stranger in military uniform who has a disturbing truth to reveal.
In this section I’d like to take a quick look at this production and give my own personal evaluation of the decisions they would have made about their production such as set, lighting etc. and consider where a Dramaturg might have been involved with the process.
The first place in which a Dramaturg may have been involved is the choosing of the play/idea for the performance. This choice is made by a Dramaturg variation often known as the Literary Manager. They are responsible for the finding and choosing of the next play for a company to perform. This decision, might be based on a number of factors, such as; the strengths of the company, the demand/popularity of certain plays or styles and of course, the quality of the play itself. Mary Luckhurst, in her book Dramaturgy: A Revolution in Theatre, defines the Literary Manager and Dramaturgs role as such:
“Any public performance of a play by a company necessitates the accomplishment of these functions: the play must have been read and selected; unless perfectly crafted (rare indeed), it must also have been made stage worthy by cutting and/or rewriting; been cast; and in some measure, rehearsed. Furthermore, if performed more than once, or subsequently revived, judgement about it’s artistic, ideological, popular and/or commercial appeals must have been exercised.”(Dramaturgy: A Revolution in Theatre
Written By: Luckhurst, Mary. CUP, Cambridge, 2006. Page 11)
In terms of appearance and staging the piece was very straightforward with a simple set and lighting used but to great effect. There was no heavy demand for dramatic and over the top lighting, as this would not have suited the tone of the play but there were moments of clever lighting, including a two-way mirror; which, when lit from behind, revealed the “ghost” of Glenn Miller appearing from “inside” the wall. The set was modest, yet convincingly of a different time period and suited the implication that we were looking at a room in an old airbase. A Dramaturg often acts as something of an assistant /co director and would therefore be included in meetings and decisions regarding the staging of the play and provide a communicator between the director and design team. As a person outside the company itself, the Dramaturg provides a fresh set of eyes and is able to view designs as a member of the audience to judge their suitability.
A Dramaturg would also have a say in the casting of the performers, in this case the male leads were very suitable for the roles but to be truthful were a little lacking in the accent department!
The role of the Dramaturg within English theatre is still developing and “finding it’s feet”, so to speak, therefore I don’t believe this company would have employed a Dramaturg to work on the project. It is perhaps a position required more by larger companies who need a person to link to many areas of a production. In all I enjoyed the performance and whilst it wasn’t something I’d normally consider seeing, I can view it professionally and say that I admired its execution on the stage.
Here is a link to the Future Legend Co. great website for the show: http://www.glennmillermystery.com/
Hayley.